Partial results in Israeli election suggest no simple path to government for Netanyahu or his rivals

Summary

Israelis voted on Tuesday, October 27, in an election that will help decide whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stays in office. Before the vote, reporting said the election was unlikely to produce quick answers about who would lead the next government, and that forming a new government can take weeks, months or longer. Partial results now suggest that neither Netanyahu nor his rivals have a simple path to forming a government, and neither major bloc looks likely to win a majority. Negotiations will begin, and it will take some time before a winner emerges.

Timeline

1. New York Times

   27 Oct 2026, 18:59 UTCSource ↗

   Reported before the Tuesday vote that the election is unlikely to yield quick answers about who might lead the next government.

2. The Conversation

   28 Oct 2026, 03:21 UTCSource ↗

   Reports that with neither major bloc looking likely to form a majority, negotiations will begin and it will take some time before there is a winner.

3. Financial Times

   28 Oct 2026, 08:18 UTCSource ↗

   Reports that partial results suggest neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his rivals have a simple path to form a government after Israel's election.

4. Japan Times

   28 Oct 2026, 22:19 UTCSource ↗

   Reports that with the Israeli election inconclusive, painstaking coalition bargaining appears to be ahead, with Netanyahu remaining in a caretaker capacity.

5. ABC

   29 Oct 2026, 01:51 UTCSource ↗

   Reports that the inconclusive result, with neither Netanyahu nor the opposition gaining a majority, means weeks of messy and complicated negotiations.